1. It's called hunting for a reason.
2. Sometimes deer just don't come within range.
3. We all want a buck, but sometimes you just don't see one you can shoot.
4. Use the bathroom before you go to the blind.
5. Make sure and check for deer before you leave the blind to pee!
6. Deer don't always come out where you expect them to.
7. On the last day of the hunt, any deer is a good deer.
8. While the .223 works for deer it just doesn't always leave a good blood trail.

I took my ten year old step daughter hunting in Oklahoma on a four day hunt. The whole way down on the drive she talked about shooting a buck deer. I told her we'd shoot one if we saw one, but that it might not happen. She was just adamant about shooting only a buck first and then moving on to does.

Well as luck would have it the only live buck she saw never got closer than 400 yards. I've worked with her out to 200 but not any further, and even she said it was too far away. So she passed on it only to have the guy who invited her down to shoot that buck. Then the only other buck she saw was shot by our other buddy's son who was hunting with us.

She learned that she should use the bathroom before going to the blind in the morning. Dad learned that even though he is frustrated with her needing to pee, that he should make a thorough sweep of the area outside the blind before letting her go pee. She lost the opportunity to shoot one of six does as soon as she stepped out, because I didn't bother to look. I'm sure if she had known there was some deer out there she would have been able to hold her bladder long enough to shoot one.

She also learned that on the last day of the hunt a doe is a great trophy. She finally connected about 5 pm on the last night of the hunt. We had spent most of those four days wasting time talking about random things but one thing I did was discuss shot options and where I wanted her to shoot. I told her I wanted her to aim for the shoulder this year as last year she shot a little far back, and I discussed about quartering towards and away shots vs. broadside shots.

About ten minutes before the shot her deer came out with two fawns. The fawns went to grazing the field right away but it took a long time for the doe to put down her flag and relax. She wasn't in position for the shot as they came out on my right side and she was on the left watching the bigger game trail. Because she had to shoot across my body, she wasn't able to use her Bog Pod shooting tripod I'd got her. She just rested the forearm of the stock on the blind window and her elbow on my thigh.

The doe was quartering towards us on a pretty extreme angle, so I asked her where she was going to put the bullet. She said I'm aiming for the shoulder like we talked, and then said the bullet should come out by the last rib. I said good girl, when your ready take the rifle off of safe and make the shot. She pushed the safety forward and shortly after that there was the sound of the rifle going off.

I could see the bullet impact the doe, and she jumped straight up in the air. When she came down her leg buckled and she nose dived into the ground. I said good shot! Then the doe got up and started to run, and I yelled reload, we might have to shoot again. My daughter was fumbling with working the bolt, so I lost sight of the doe as I turned to reach for my rifle. When I got my rifle out the window I couldn't find the doe in my scope. Well even though my daughter fumbled with the reload she had kept track of the doe, I was looking for signs of blood or hair to find a trail to track. While I was searching my daughter walked right over to her doe.

When we found the doe right before dark I was surprised to find not much of an entrance wound and no exit. This is the second year she has used the .223 and the 55 grain TSX bullet on deer. It's hard to argue with the success she has had with it but I wasn't impressed with the lack of any blood to track. I wasn't able to be with her last year for her first doe, so I don't know really how the bullet performed last year. However I do know she shot the doe twice last year and only once this year.

Picture of the entrance wound.

The happy huntress!

Her final words on the hunt was, "A doe beats no deer at all, thank you for taking me hunting Chad!"

Good job young lady! I had a special experience this year myself. I harvested a huge om and a small deer with my Grandfather's single shot 16ga. Hasent been used to hunt since probably the 1930's. It was a special momnent.

She did better than me and my buddies... we all got skunked this year.

The jack-@$$ on the neighboring property has been letting his dogs chase deer for the last month or so... and now the deer never ever ever move around during the day... unless a dog is sniffing them out. They are so hunkered down in the cover that we never see them until we step on them.

So since we are ethical hunters, and don't use dogs, we faced a really challenging hunting situation this year.

She did great... It is very easy to be proud of a girl like that.

With a lung shot with a small high expansion bullet like she was using, I am not surprised you did not see much blood trail... The lung probably filled with blood rapidly, and unless the animal coughed it out, there would be no blood. I have seen the same thing with a polymer-tipped 308 150 grain.... no exit wound, no blood trail, and when we breakdown the carcass, we find about two quarts of blood in the lungs.

Guys, I've to be honest those were the best four days I've spent with my daughter in the last year. I spent most of last year living away from my family for work. So when I took vacation this year and instead of chasing elk and mule deer like I normally do, I spent it sitting with her. Best decision I ever made.

We had spent most of those four days wasting time talking about random things

That most definitely was NOT wasted time! Time with your girl, in the blind, just talking random things, I have come to learn are the most important part of the hunt. Of course she will remember the deer, but she will also remember the time you spent just talking to her and letting her talk about things she wanted to talk about. And when she gets older, that time just chatting to her will be more important than that doe!

Amazing how pre kids, I never noticed things like wildflowers, cool rocks to pick up, etc that the kids have introduced into the hunt. And although at first the discussions seemed dry, I realized this was the stuff important to them.

Great job for your little huntress! Those pictures are most certainly worth many thousands of words!

We had spent most of those four days wasting time talking about random things

Quote:

That most definitely was NOT wasted time! Time with your girl, in the blind, just talking random things, I have come to learn are the most important part of the hunt. Of course she will remember the deer, but she will also remember the time you spent just talking to her and letting her talk about things she wanted to talk about. And when she gets older, that time just chatting to her will be more important than that doe!

Well said globemaster3

There's a song titled 'Just Fishin' by country singer Trace Adkins that explains things real well.

I took my 3 year old hunting for his first time this year. After 5 or six minutes in the box stand he said "they aint coming out today daddy. Lets go back to Grannies." That was the best hunting trip I have ever been on.

Hunted with my dad this year and I was able to get this last day of the season. I stopped hunting our perm stands and took a Summit Tree Seat out and set up. After grunting a bit this one got within 25 yards of me.

For the first time in 25 yrs, I did not take a deer with my bow. Nor did I draw it or much less loose an arrow at a deer. I still can't believe it. And I hunted hard and smart (well, I think I did).

Finally took a fair buck with a rifle in the last week. Bamaboy finally connected with the same rifle on the next to last day, his first solo, and he was tickled, and so was I.

Your experience with .223 mirrors some my own w/ bamaboys first few deer, taken with .223. We shot 55 gr Federal bonded and if there was no exit, there was no bloodtrail. Still a dead deer, but one anxious kid till we recovered them.

Congrats to you and your step daughter. BTW, is that a .223 Hog Rifle?

So far, all six of my grand-kids (4 boys, 2 girls) old enough to hunt have been out with either their fathers or me. Only one, the oldest boy, has gotten a deer, but we're hoping for better results next season.

The three rifles they use are .243 Wins...a Rem 700, a Tikka T3 Lite, and an H&R Handi-Rifle. So far, the Handi-Rifle is the only one that got a deer, but it wasn't the guns fault in another instance. I didn't happen to be with any of them when shots were fired...bummer.

Glad she got a deer. Looks like you did learn a few things also. One of those was that a hit deer is NOT a dead deer. That's a major complaint I have with TV hunting shows. Very seldom does the hunter immediately reload and prepare for a followup. It's all "high fives" and back slapping.
When my kids started hunting, I made it a point to always have my rifle on the animal or ready to use in case a backup was needed. This year was Grandson's first deer and even though his shot dropped the doe on the spot(spine shot), I kept my rifle aimed until the flopping stopped.

Thanks for all the compliments on my daughter. The rifle is just a Stevens 200 with a cut down LOP to fit her. She shot a .308 for the first time a few months ago while out shooting with friends. A young 13 year old boy couldn't handle the recoil of his dad's new .308, so my daughter had to show him how to shoot it. She's been begging me for one, since so I traded for a nice Rem 700 Classic in .300 Savage, it's not a .308 but it's close enough. Hopefully she'll use that next year.

Now to some hunters thats not a picture of a trophy deer. But that is unmistakably a TROPHY SMILE on that young lady and therefore that qualifies that deer as a TROPHY.
You go girl!
Congrats on fine deer and a wonderful hunt with special memories. That trumps antlers every time.

__________________
If you have time to do it twice, then you have time to do it once right and put your name on it

Yeah that's a trophy smile, and diservingly so. Move her on up to a larger caliber dad...
What about .243, then 2506, then 300 Savage,,,,,,and so on.......I bet she could shoot super groups with that "two handled" Yugo.....

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